I’m at least as interested in Sweden’s reaction to events in Georgia, with Foreign Minister Carl Bildt saying, “No state has the right to intervene militarily in the territory of another state simply because there are individuals there with a passport issued by that state or who are nationals of the state. Attempts to apply such a doctrine have plunged Europe into war in the past… And we have reason to remember how Hitler used this very doctrine little more than half a century ago to undermine and attack substantial parts of central Europe.”

According to the Swedish government, the Swedish Foreign Minister said, “I give the full support of the Swedish Government to the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, the Foreign Minister of Finland, in the OSCE’s efforts to bring about talks between the parties.” The Foreign Minister of Finland is none other than Alexander Stubb, who is known for his support for Finnish membership in NATO and his opposition to Finland’s “non-alignment”.

Swedish and Finnish diplomacy will be important in this crisis, not because Sweden and Finland will necessarily be successful but rather because Russian contempt toward them may push them to reorient their foreign policies.

I don’t think America will necessarily need to carry all of the water in terms of supporting Georgian independence.